Nicodemus Archleone
] Summary Nicodemus Archleone is a recurring antagonist in Dresden Files. He is the eldest Denarian, a person who has taken up one of the 30 Blackened Denarius, the fabled 30 pieces of silver that Judas betrayed Jesus for. Each coin has a Fallen angel imprisoned within and by taking up the coin he becomes able to wield a degree of their power and make use of their knowledge. He is the leader of the Order of the Blackened Denarius, a group of Denarians and their fanatical cult servants. He first appears in Death Masks, attempting to steal the Shroud of Turin to reverse its power and cast a plague consisting of every disease known to man on the Chicago airport to spread it around the world. Although he manages to kill the only Knight of the Cross to have ever beaten him, his plan is foiled by Dresden and he retreats, becoming the first of Dresden's major villains to survive past the book they appear in. He reappears in Small Favor, kidnapping Marcone in a plot to corrupt the Archive, the living repository of all written knowledge. Again he is defeated by Dresden, but manages to cripple Michael Carpenter and force him to retire as a Knight of the Cross. His most recent appearance is during Skin Game where he assembles a team (including an unwilling-but-forced-by-circumstance Dresden) to rob the Vault of Hades and steal the Holy Grail. Powers and Stats Tier: 9-B physically, at least 9-B to 9-A with Anduriel Name: Nicodemus Archleone Origin: Dresden Files Gender: Male Age: At least 2000 years old Classification: Denarian Powers and Abilities: Immortality (Type 1, 3 and 8. Anduriel halts Nicodemus's aging and due to him wearing Judas's noose, he cannot die in anyway except strangulation via the noose, quickly healing from any other damage done), Weapon Mastery (Has 2000 years of experience in swordplay), limited Cosmic Awareness (Anduriel can see and listen from any living being's shadow), Statistics Amplification (Denarians grow in power by hurting others), Regeneration (At least Low-Mid, near-instantly regenerated from being shot in the heart several times. Likely higher, as long as he wears Judas's noose he cannot die in any way except being strangled by it), Disease Manipulation (Can create plague curses), Animated Shadow (His shadow can attack for him, wrapping around people to restrict their movement or crush them), Absorption (His shadow can absorb light, darkening the area around it, even managing to absorb light imbued with soulfire to a degree), Flight (Can shape his shadow into wings and fly on them), Power Nullification (Dresden's magic "crumbled to frozen powder" and left him unable to use it when he was grabbed by Nicodemus's shadow), Fate Manipulation (Can use the Barabbas Curse, which "mandates a death that cannot be avoided", acting similar to an entropy curse which inflicts the target with lethally bad luck), limited Invisibility (Can shroud himself in his shadow, making it difficult to see him), Resistance to Mind Manipulation and Telepathy (Anduriel is able to protect Nicodemus's mind from invasion, as he is comparable to Ursiel who psychically knocked Dresden out of a soulgaze with his host, and Lasciel's shadow who was able to protect Dresden from having every negative emotion forced into his mind. Unaffected by Uriel's halo. Has held a Fallen angel in his mind for 2000 years and not been taken over by it. Anduriel himself is an angel, an absolute being that cannot be changed, mentally or otherwise), Resistance to Fate Manipulation (As a mortal with free-will, Nicodemus is capable of defying fate and creating his own future), Resistance to Clairvoyance and Cosmic Awareness (Mab was unable to scry his location or any of the Denarian's) Attack Potency: Wall level physically (Can injure Dresden without a weapon), at least Wall level to Small Building level with Anduriel (Restrained Dresden with Anduriel and would have crushed him. Although he prefers not to physically fight with Anduriel, he is just as physically powerful as the other hosts of the Fallen such as Hannah Ascher who can slag the roof of a stone cavern with fire or Ursiel who can smash massive gold pillars apart with ease) Speed: At least Superhuman, likely higher (Can fly faster than a train. Moved so fast that he moved 20 feet before Dresden even registered he was moving, and Dresden at this point could react to electricity based attacks) Lifting Strength: Unknown physically, at least Athletic Human with Anduriel Striking Strength: Wall Class (Capable of injuring Dresden with his bare hands during the events of Small Favor), at least Wall Class to Small Building Class with Anduriel Durability: At least Wall level to Small Building level (Was smashed into a Corinthian column by Dresden's force attack hard enough to shatter it and was only slowed down) Stamina: High. Has manged to fight and defeat many Knights of the Cross in combat, which Dresden describes as being one of the the most strenuous physical activities possible. Range: Extended melee range with his sword. Tens of metres with his gun. Hundreds of metres, possibly higher with the Barabbas Curse. Planetary with Anduriel's cosmic awareness (Word of God states that the Fallen's range of influence beyond their host covers the planet) Standard Equipment: His sword, a gun, the Judas Noose and a coin. Intelligence: Genius. Nicodemus is incredibly intelligent, having led the Order of the Blackened Denarius for 2000 years. He is patient and careful and a meticulous planner. Even when his major goals (e.g. the apocalypse) are thwarted, Nicodemus always plans to come out ahead somehow, making incremental profits along the way. His intelligence has impressed the likes of super-genius Fallen angels to the point that the majority of them follow his leadership even though he is a human. He has also practiced in various forms of combat for twenty centuries, being equal to Michael's skill in swordplay and easily defeating Karrin Murphy, who knows dozens of martial arts, in a hand to hand fight. He has managed to kill hundreds of Knights of the Cross who in some cases have God giving them knowledge of the future or arranging the best outcome for them, either by careful planning or simple combat skill. Has a Fallen angel within his mind at all times offering him advice, and the Fallen angels are beings literally older than time who "understand things we literally could not begin to grasp", having perfect memories and "a library of information at his immediate disposal", and "schemer that makes Cardinal Richelieu look like Mother Teresa". Furthermore, his Fallen is Anduriel, one of Lucifer's captains in the rebellion against heaven, also called the Spymaster. Weaknesses: If he loses his coin, he loses access to the majority of his powers and will quickly begin to age to his proper state of being (however it is unknown where he keeps his coin so this is not generally a valid tactic. Additionally, the aging is not immediate, as even after relinquishing his coin for a bit under a minute as part of a ploy, he did not immediately begin to age). A Knight of the Cross can take the place of Barabbas Curse's target, dying instead of them. Others Notable Victories: Notable Losses: Inconclusive Matches: Category:Characters Category:Villains Category:Book Characters Category:Evil Characters Category:Fate Users Category:Immortals Category:Regeneration Users Category:Disease Users Category:Statistics Amplification Users Category:Flight Users Category:Power Nullification Users Category:Absorption Users Category:Invisibility Users Category:Sword Users Category:Gun Users Category:Dresden Files Category:Tier 9 Category:Shadow Users